al-Awlaki was an American born man of Yemeni descent. He was a charismatic preacher who later moved to Yemen and joined an al Qaeda affiliate. In 2011 he was killed by a US drone strike, making him the fist American since the civil war to be deliberately assassinated by his own government.

Scott Shane’s book is a masterpiece that won the 2016 Lionel Gerber prize for best international affairs book. It’s now out in paper back. And unlike most episodes where we spend the first 10 or fifteen minutes speaking about an author’s new book before exploring their own life story, Scott and I spend the bulk of our conversation telling the remarkable and gripping story of al-Awlaki before talking about Scott’s own career.